Sacramento daily record-union. [volume] (Sacramento [Calif.]) 1875-1891, 1887-09-03
THE ARMADILLO.

The armadillo lives in South America,
says the New York Teleqranl, and his name
there is the bolito, or " little ball. because
he rolls himself up in his shell so that he
can be tumbled about like ball. The
bands of shell are flexible and overlap
toward the tail; the collar and tail cape
are each in one piece, but slightly flexible /;
the face shield is loose, except at the fore
head. When alarmed the animal will curl
up quickly, and hold his shell as tightly as
closed oyster-shell until the danger is
past. His forefeet are made for burrowing,
and are not of much use in walking, as he
walks on tiptoe. The easiest way for him
to get about is to roll, although he stays
very close at home. Sometimes a pair of
armadillos will have ten babies that keep
the parents busy when the babies are
weaned. They eat insects principally, but
will eat carrion. The monkeys find great
pleasure in teasing the armadillos. The
shrek Of delight when monkey discovers
Il bolito taking an airing will bring a dozen
of the chattering creatures to the spot.
They roll him about, poke their fingers
into the cracks of his shell, screech and
scold until tired, but the bolito never
chceps or relaxes muscle until his tor
mentors leave him.
A WORD ABOUT SPORTS.
| suppose there never was n nation, race
or people since first the earth was made
that did not have girls and boys who not
only loved play but did play, and with a
will. The Eskimos of the frozen north,
the Tupinambras of the Brazilian pampas,
the gamins of the Paris streets, the bows
and girls of London, and Boston and New
York have in their nature one kindred tie
the love of sport.
There Is nothing new under the sun. said
the wise man, and especially is there moth
ing new in youthful games. Archaolo-
gists find well-beloved dolls in Egyptian
pyramids and on prehistoric tombs; the
name OF popular ball club was found
scrawled upon the outer walls of Pompeiian
houses, and one of the most exciting
matches on record was the one, stubbornly
fought, between the rival mines of Monte
yuma, King of Mexico and Nezahual- pill,
TIN of Tezcuco. The boys of ancient
Greece and Rome played at whip-top, and
quoits, and baseball, and pitch-penny, and
blindman's-buff, and hide-and-seek, and
jack stones, and follow my..leader, lust as
do the boys of to-day; the girls were ex-
perts at see-saw, and swinging, and dane
ing, and grace hoops, and dice-throwing.
and ball play, and, in Sparta, even al run
ming, wrestling and leaping Tobogg:ning
Is as old as ice and snow, and whenR you
play at cherry-pits you are only ding
what Nero, and Commodus, and young
Themistocles did ages ago in Homeland
Athens.
So, whatever the age or wherever the
cline, the boys and girls of the world have
always lived more for play than any thing
else, and however harsh or hard their sur
roundings, however stern or strict HEIR
fathers and their mothers, they al
ways found and always made the most of
the time for play-and, more thar. any
other season, the time for summer SHORTS.
These sports to-day are fast reducing
themselves into as many sciences, cver-
weighted with rules and restrictions that
often take the real play element from them
and make them as unyielding and sedate
as problem in algebra.
Now, while rules and restrictions are I'M
doubleday necessary there is such thing
as going too far, and / am inclined to be-
lieve that the boys and girls prefer to fol-
low the cast-iron club rules" or "leacue
rules " only to the verge of cast-ironness y
and make their sport, if less absolute, at
least more jolly. There is no fun in max
ing our sport 4 matter of life and death.
l know grown people who, in these days
OF prize-giving in all manner of games,
center their whole desires not on the fun
OF the game, but on the prizes offered.
They really seem as disappointed if they
do not carry off the trophy as if they had
met with serious loss. Let us take our
fun with jollity or not at ALL Interest is
one thing, and irritability is quite another.
-Elbridge S. Brooks, IN Aug. Vide A,cake.